Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Online Antisemitism 2.0--How To Respond (Updated)

Facebook, YouTube, and Google Earth are merely tools.
From The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs:
Online Antisemitism 2.0. "Social Antisemitism" on the "Social Web"

Andre Oboler
  • Around 2004, changes in technology created Web 2.0.[1] As technology adapted, so did online antisemitism. With the new "social web" came a new "social antisemitism." This Antisemitism 2.0 is the use of online social networking and content collaboration to share demonization, conspiracy theories, Holocaust denial, and classical antisemitic motifs with a view to creating social acceptability for such content.

  • This phenomenon is spreading antisemitism and acceptability of antisemitism in new and increasingly effective ways. Social pressures are key to understanding Antisemitism 2.0, which is a combination of the technology and the emerging social environment.

  • The main threat posed by Web 2.0 to the Jewish people and their supporters is the creation of a culture where antisemitism has social acceptability, particularly among young people, resulting in the lowering of resistance and the establishment of hate networks.

  • To challenge Antisemitism 2.0, the Jewish community must as a strategy begin to engage online as an online community made up of individuals and organizations. The community has the talent to combat antisemitism online, but only if it is recognized, trained, funded, and given a shared sense of ownership in the fight against this newest manifestation of antisemitism.

Around 2004, changes in technology created Web 2.0, the social web where users, not publishers, create the content.[2] As technology adapted, so did online antisemitism. With the new "social web" came a new "social antisemitism," an Antisemitism 2.0. This phenomenon is spreading antisemitism and acceptability of antisemitism in new and increasingly effective ways.

Hereinafter two examples are presented in detail, followed by a discussion of the various applications, their significance, and a survey of the most prominent cases of antisemitism across a range of technologies. Given the impact on society of Web 2.0, antisemitism in this arena cannot be ignored for long. Jews need to develop an effective community-based strategy to counter a new wave of hate and its push for social acceptability in the new social web.

Read the whole thing--especially ideas for combating Anti-Semitism on the web.
And check out Zionism On The Web.
Also check out Anti-Semitism 2.0 Going Largely Unchallenged (in The Jewish Week)

UPDATE: Check out HonestReporting on this, and join the HonestReporting Facebook group.

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